Longships Game.

Yesterday at the club Graham put on a game of Longships by Peter pig. So all the figures ands all the terrain belongs to Graham and he has to bring it all to the club. So none of these fancy set ups in your own home. Everything has to be portable!

There were a choice of armies (I did NOT get to choose but if I did I would not have picked a Dark Age Irish army. ) So Either Matt or Dick selected Irish and I teamed up with them. Opposite the enemy had selected a Scottish army, and on the day Bob (directly opposite me) Peter and Tim faced us.

We rolled the pregame and we were attacking. (Remember the Irish have many qualities in this period but having much armour was not one of them.

Irish at bottom of picture attacking the hills (That was were we would get the most victory points!). I was on the Right, Matt the Left and Dick was the centre.

Assaulting up hill from a stream with unarmoured troops. Well what can I say! things could be better. So not ideal.

Taking turns to set up units.
The Scotts occupy the hill
and would be hard to shift!

But as I was both the last to set up and the Irish moved first.
I threw caution to the wind
crossed the river and climbed the hill
In an area which was not defended.

And feeling bold immediately attacked!
And Miracle apon Miracles actually WON!

The Gratuitos picture of Tims Dice rolling
Uncharacteristically good on the day!

Matt buoyed on by the successful assault on his right also crossed the river.
The bad news is that Tim could roll dice this day.

Foolishly I press on with a depleted unit.
My luck holds and they rout a second unit.
But are in turn in a very bad shape at the end of it.

Bob's Cavalry arrive from off table.
A small unit of 5 bases.
It was 8 bases but he elected to bring them on early
before they were fully mustered.

My 2 units form up on the hill.
My peaseant/levy unit on the left and by battered and wounded unit on the right.

Bob charges the levy unit.
All of my weakest troops in the unit die (I had them at the front)
Yes cruel and heartless
But it left my more competent troops alive
After the first clash.

(This was not my tactic just me moving the wrong figures
and exposing my weaker troops and not fighting with my better troops in
the charge! OPPS!

But as the Dice gods smiled bobs Cavalry charge was blunted by my levy.
Yes he killed more than me,
BUT
I inflicted more hits (Which he mostly saved)
So the 5 bases of cavalry were reduced to 3 bases and being counted as a small unit in the game
routed from the table at the end of the turn.

Tim meanwhile had butchered Matt and Dick had butchered Tim. Peters troops had all fled, half from my endeavours and half from Dicks.

At the pack up when the game was over I was the only player with a credible force left. All Bobs Infantry and Cavalry had been destroyed by me. In fact the only troops the Scots had left were skirmish units (Good for harassing units but not able to fight ) Matt had also lost all the troops he had (apart from Skirmishers) Dick had 1/2 a unit left (Very badly wounded)  as well as some skirmishers and I had 2 units left (One very badly mauled) along with nearly all the skirmishers I started with.

So on the day the Irish beat the Scots 40 Victory points to 22 Victory points.
Which only meant a minor victory. So despite them having no troops left on the table not the raging and crushing victory we would all hope for (When we played) .

One of the best victories I have had in this game ever. Actually one of the better victories (from my perspective) I have ever had at the club. But because of the losses only a minor victory over all.

But most importantly a good fun game with some great chaps.

I will probably start to build a force for this game soon. So watch out for that. And While I would like a Carolingian Army for the game, it will almost deffinitly be either a Viking or Saxon army in 15mm as I already have a DBA Viking army. (DBA 1st Ed).

A call to arms

2 years ago now I played a wargame on this blog with about 10-12 other players. I had fun so those involved will forever have my gratitude. For reasons beyond my control I was unable to play last year.  But this is another year and I would like to give it another go. Another set of rules another setting and another game entirely.

Background.

The country of Klintanistan (a made up imagi-nation Country). Has collapsed leaving a power void into which various leaders and factions push. And push hard. Never a rich country and never at the forefront of world politics Klintanistan was still valuable and had some assets and given the resilience of the people it was a country that could grow. Grow perhaps to be a world leader with as many colonies as Britain or Spain, who knows. All this is the future though and the now is a very different place.

The Location of the country is not needed for the game so feel free to think of it as anywhere you want. Maybe Central America, or the Middle east, Sub Saharan Africa, South east Asia Polynesia or even a country in Europe. (As all the game action will take place within the country it matters not where you think of it!). Just think "Back of Beyond" Somewhere.

Date also need not worry us exactly. The technology is 1930's so yes you can have cars and trains and planes and even submarines.... but you will not be starting with anything quite so flash! Horse drawn vehicles predominate although a few cars and trucks are about they are rare rather than common and most people cannot drive! (at least in this country). ) I am not setting an exact date as we all know that WW2 started in 1939 and we all know that will have a major effect on world politics. Before it happens (if it ever does you will not know). Which is only fair as it will stop people reading ahead and having knowledge of the future. (I do not care if you have Crystal Balls in real life, that is a matter between you and the Doctor!) In this game you do NOT have knowledge of the future..

Each player will control one faction or region or leader or well you get the idea. Each turn you will get to balance your economy! (Very simple and abstract) and issue up to a maximum of 5 commands (commands may be repeated, and most likely will) .  These commands can be anything you like, anything that you think your country or leader would enjoy or approve of. But as all things take time most results will NOT be immediate. (One weeks play represents 2 month of time for the country!)

There will only be 2 seasons (Summer and Winter) with each season being 3 turns long.

I intend to play for 12 weeks (2 years in game) and then asses the situation. Things will probably start slowly as players both find their feet and work out the rules, but with some people you just never know. One player may issue 5 attack orders in the first turn. Which I might personally think Reckless, but you never know might turn out to be the winning strategy.

So all I am looking for at this stage is for bloggers(or Lurkers) to let me know they are interested in playing. (Max 10 to start) BUT some reserves IF a faction rebels against its leader for one rason or another.... it may just happen and then again it may not!)

The Following players already have:

Ray http://onelover-ray.blogspot.co.uk/ Rousell
Fran http://theangrylurker.blogspot.co.uk/ Lee
Michael (the Glorious People's Democratic Republic of Millsystan ) AKA generalissimo Millsy  Mills (NO Yamsin NOT GIMP, behave you!)
Roy http://nevermindthejankers.blogspot.co.uk/ Williamson
Bryan http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.co.uk/ Scott
Andy http://dagobbosgrotto.blogspot.co.uk/ Goboland (Real name Nash!)
Martin http://28mmheroes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/house.html Cooke
Dave http://onemanhisbrushes.blogspot.co.uk/ Docherty Playing as The Peoples Undemocractic Republic of Docistan
Matt https://wargamesinthedungeon.blogspot.co.uk/ Crump
J http://lairoftheubergeek.blogspot.co.uk/ Miles


So as you can see there is room if you want to join in.

If you do want to play just leave me a comment below and we will sort out a starting position for you.

All the rules and setting are made up by me and I any resemblance to any persons or countries are purely a lucky guess on my part.

So feel free to make up any name that suits you if you want to play.
Turns will be every weekend so awnsers and turn details NEED to be back to me by FRIDAY at the VERY latest!

Bit of a read I know so sit down with a cup of tea and have a rest.

GAME Now FULL!

I have had a moment of stupidity and will accept the 3 reserve players as full starting players BUT there will be no reserves

This will mean if your economy crashes or your government gets ousted. all goods and belongings will be split among other players.

Sikh Medical and machine gun teams (and PBB game news)

 Yes some more 28mm figures for Matt. Something to fight the Burpas!

In the top two pics I have no idea of the manufacture (neither dos Matt) as they were purchased from eBay as bare metal. The sculpts were not so very good, And the figures seem quite tall. So If you know who makes them let me know as they seem to do some interesting stuff and we all need troops moving wounded figures and carrying stretchers.

they have been painted to fit in with some other troops of his that I painted a few years ago. So while the colours might match the figures really do not. As most of the rest of his Sikh troops are Foundry. And I find Foundry just that little bit small (25 as opposed to 28mm).

Talking of foundry the figures in the last 2 pics are foundry (or so I believe) but maybe with a head swap on the Machinegun team.  Again painted to colour match his existing figures. But the rocks and ground work should be a little pinker (I painted the wrong base colour) if it was to be a perect match. But unless you place them next to each other you will not notice, and even if you do, rocks are natural so some variety will exist.

Along with the machine gun team (now in pointy Turbans) there are 2 buglers. And these should round out Matts forces quite nicely (at least until Sunday when I see him next!)

Change of Subject!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On Saturday I plan to ask for players in another Play by blog game. I could not put a play by blog game on last year and did so miss it. I am not going to make excuses it is just that real life got in the way. All my fault and until I get a more economical time machine not a lot I can do about it!
So the planned game is a geopolitical game set in the 1930's . No exact date or place given as I know some of you are fierce history buffs and that may affect play.
I have already contacted some players and all responses have so far been positive and places are filling up. In this game you will be the leader of a faction in the now fragmented "Klintanistan." (a Kingdom which has lost its leader). So that is just a heads up and an acknowledgement of Saturdays (Weekend) post.

Thanks for looking today. All the best Clint. Ex President for life of Klintanistan.

Phalanx. (15mm Sci Fi)

Not a real post yesterday, just a quick update in case anyone saw those figures at a later date and wondered why they were different,

 So today sees me continue with the 15mm Sci Fi force.

This is a GZG New Anglican Confederation Phalanx APC. Not the easiest thing to put together, and I did muck it up in a couple of places but it did come out looking "acceptable" . In 2 weeks time I shall pick another one or maybe 2 of these up to fully fit out my NAC force with armoured Infantry transport.

In the rules this is able to transport either 1 Power armour squad or 2 normal squads. (But most often just carries one normal squad). It has two light Direct Fire Fusion Guns (Gatling style) one in each small turret. In addition to the troops  it has a crew of 2 (Commander and Driver), but in the rules only basic ECM and smoke launchers.

There is a command version which does have better Electronic Counter measures and communication, but cannot carry troops. (Well maybe a command squad in a limited capacity but not for long periods)

Shown with NAC troops

He who pays the piper.

I always offer Matt the chance to change any figures I paint for him. Normally It goes on behind the scenes and is not on my blog. But this time a small update. Matt wanted them toned down a bit. No Problem to me. He particularly wanted the tanks on the back of the flame thrower and the purple/pink blanket roll changed.

When painting for someone else I will usually offer a repaint of either all or part of the figure if they want something changed. It seems to me the right thing to do and Matt had never really wanted much changed ever before so I was happy to make these small changes.

He suggested Black, Grey, Red, Brown or a similar colour.
Well Job Done within 10 minutes of getting of the phone with him.
I hope everyone likes the results.

Black tanks of the Flame thrower and a brown blanket.

BUF Heavy weapons

Yes a few more BUF for Matt's growing collection. While most of these figures are Empress Miniatures 28mm from the Spanish Civil War range, The one on the far right I know is a Musketeer Miniature and the 2nd from the right is a conversion.

While only 3 pieces the mortar (not the crew) is tricky to put together just because all the pieces are so thin and fidly. The base is easy enough and quite solid BUT attaching the stand and the tube do require some level of dexterity... it is not that they are bad fits, they are actually good fits with up to 3 different angles possible. And that is what creates the issue you have to be able to glue two of the three pieces and attache the third before fully dry. Many people will find this easier than "Butter Fingers"(Me) and I do appreciate the sculptor making some variety in positioning and it has come out well in the end so no real complaints. The Mortar comes with three crew as well (two on the base) and one on a separate base is how I decided to place them, but you could have them all separate if you choose.


 I was unsure what colour to paint the flame thrower mask, but settled on Red as it feels hot and is one of the British Union of Fascists colours. So to contrast the red I put both blue and yellow tanks on the back.  I would have been equally justified in putting a Black mask and even Black tanks on the back, but I did want some colour and variety. Despite the fact that I feel in real life they would have settled on Black for every thin!


The last picture shows the figures in the previous BUF post included as they are all being given back to Matt soon.


The last Pic allows me to colour match at a later date and also just because someone usually asks for one and this may save you the effort of doing so.

Thanks for looking I hope you are having a great weekend. All the Best Clint

Little Omaha (15mm PBI) at Nijmegen

As a Club we were asked to put a game on at the Skirmish show (a local show which is on twice a year) the organiser does try to theme each show. And this time he wanted  Arnhem. The only problem is no one at the club has any British paras of this period. I have some 15mm US Paras and Graham has both British and German so we had a quick look at a few other options and Nijmegen was selected as while not at Arnhem it is still part of the race to  Arnhem by 30 Corps and in this instance the 82nd Airborne.  (Here is a link if you are unfamiliar with the battle LINK ) But I suspect you are.

Peter Player the Germans. I played the US Parkas and Tim Played 30 Corps.
Pete Set up first and selected 2 20mm FLAK wagons as his option.

I had 2 Platoons to cross the river and capture the far end of the bridge.
here my troops move forward with canvas boats and a Sherman in support.

Fearing Tim would not push for the bridge too much
AND
because I was a little scared of crossing the river in Canvas boats with 2
Flak Wagons defending the river.
I sent 1 of my platoons into the town.

Peter was stopping Tim from advancing
so I managed to close assault one of the Town Squares.
It was a success, but a costly one.

The British get gunned down as they approach the town.
I said at the start that Tim needed to put a tank in that square.
Yes it would have made it vulnerable to Paserfausts
BUT the square would at least be Partial cover.
As you can see he did not.

The Square of Death in the town
My Paras in the town are shot at by 3 surrounding square and while they do
take the pressure from Tims advance
As far as he was concerned not quite enough

Elsewhere I have crossed the river with 1 platoon and destroyed the two Flak Wagons,
But not fast enough and  with little cover advancing on the other side of the river towards the
bridge is perilous.

Tim Rushes this side of the bridge and captures one end.

The last move of the game (we were on a countdown clock)
Tim rushes a lone Sherman towards the far end of the bridge.

But it is too little to late.


 

Conclusion: Do not put me and tim in charge of attacks across a river. we both dithered to much instead of pressing on which we both should have done. Peter was a demon on the count down clock and the game ended on turn 5 when it should have lasted on average until turn 7. If It had lasted until turn 7 I think we may have done it, but the Germans managed to blow the bridge so we will never know and 30 corps were delayed somewhat longer than they were in real life.

Over all it was a good fun game and Peter did play well while I dithered and worried about troop losses. While it is easy to point the figure at other players, IF I had just gone for it and gotten both Platoons across the river a different game would have resulted.

But overall Fun.

The big thing I did muck up though was when I left my house in the morning I took my box of Normal US troops and left my Paras at home. (A slap head moment in the car when I realised) so we played with the US troops acting as Paras. Other than me pointing it out I do not think anyone would have noticed. So I think I would have gotten away with it. But I put my hands up and admit I actually forgot 5 different things on the way to that show. The troops being one of them.

A Few More BUF

Yes back on a VBCW for a little,. You might be thinking I wimped out about the Skirmish show Battle report. And the truth is I suppose I have. Which is not to say I will never do it, but I just wanted to break up the waffle with some painting.

I think these are all Musketeer Miniatures, but if you know better please correct me. One medium or heavy machinegun (depending on which rules) an NCO commanding the gun and an officer commanding a bow tie.

I do have a few more to come, so maybe on Friday or Sunday. All depends on what live throws at me.

They are of course painted for Matt and his ever growing collection. But I shall be back to colonial stuff before too long.

Thanks for looking today. All the best Clint

Autumn Skirmish Show report.

I was having one of those days I had forgotten 5 things, or more rather I had remembered 5 things I had forgotten pertinent to the show on the car ride up to Sidcup. I may well have forgotten a few more but 5 I can recall. Luckily I did remember my name, some money, a packed lunch and mostly what I wanted to buy if the right traders were there. The bad news is most of the traders I wanted were not there. One of the traders was their BUT he had sold out of what I wanted and was not getting any more! So for Shopping I will need to wait until SELWG at Crystal Palace.

But here is what I did buy. (Let's get that out of the way first). 1 pot of paint from Tolehaven. and One OH6 "Loach" Model from a mate (Thanks Ian) and yes I did get a discount. The helicopter was an impulse buy but I can always use stuff for my Vietnam Project in 20mm scale. And that gives me 4 helicopters I have yet to build. I hope to do them in the AHPC later this year, but I will need to buy some crew first. So Total spend was only £6.20

Right on with the games. (A couple of games are missed out just because I did not like them,... call it editing)

Tonbridge Wargames Club/Society

28mm Bolt Action

Part of operation Market Garden

Herne Bay/Whitstable Club

I think 20mm  Napoleonic not sure what rules.

Medway Wargames Club.
28mm American war of Independence
Or As I like to think.
Traitorous Colony Scumbags
Betray the King
(Honest I am not Bias!)

Using the "To the Strongest" rules.
 Just because they work better than some rules
specifically for the period.

Gravesend Gamers Guild
Space Marines Vs Chaos
40K

Nuff said.




Hornchurch Club Playing Guildball.
Looks nice and a fun game, but I for one do not need any distractions.

Old Guard Wargames Club
(I Know at least 2 Old Guard wargames Clubs
so this may not be the ones you think!)

Not sure of the scale the rules
or what the two sides were
BUT
I do know they were enjoying it!

I will do a report on the Game we put on later this week. By We I do mean the Rainham wargames club. But if you want a sneak peek pop over to Ray's Blog and the kind mister Rousell willgive you some clues. Here is a link (http://onelover-ray.blogspot.co.uk/) he claims his blog was never called "One Lover!" I think Google thinks different!